10 Kids Books to Read Again and Again

My kids have a ton of books. This is the bookshelf in their room and another in the living room. There are more still in the pantry.

Out of all those books they have about half of a shelf they are constantly asking me to read during our “special book” time before bed. I often tire of the monotony, but overall we enjoy reading together even if it is the same books over and over. I thought to share some of our favorites with you in case you need more variety on your children’s book shelf. I’ve included links to Amazon so you can find some of the books, but they are so popular you should be able to check them out at your local library if you’d rather not buy them.

Now I’m going to stretch the “10” a bit because several of our favorite books are part of a series or collection and rather than list them individually I’ve lumped them together because we love them all. If listed them all separately this list would probably be 50 books long. Also, I couldn’t possibly put these in order. The kids tried, but they kept changing their minds and arguing. I will probably be asked to read them all tonight after discussing them today.

So here we go!

How Do Dinosaurs Say Good Night? by Jane Yolen & Mark Teague
Years ago our pediatrician was new to us and started her time in the practice by giving each family a book. This was the book she gave us and our copy is so worn out. I’ve taped it back together more than once. This book is so much fun as it replaces the kids in the story with dinosaurs. It rhymes its way through how dinosaurs do and do not act at bedtime. Bedtime is a sore subject with so many kids (mine included) and whenever we are having trouble settling down at night we pull out How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight? and read it. I’m not ashamed to admit I’ve been known to act out the tantrums as I read. The kids love it.

If You Give a… Series by Laura Numeroff
This whole series of books by Laura Numeroff is great! My personal favorite is If You Give A Moose A Muffin. Each of the books have a cute, fantastical story line that leaps and jumps from thing to thing and keeps kids guessing. We’ve been re-reading these for so long and so often my kids have them memorized.

The Book with No Pictures by B.J. Novak
It looks and sounds boring doesn’t it? Looks are most certainly deceiving in this case. I promise this book is anything but boring but it MUST be read out loud. My kids love to “torture” me by asking for this one. The Book with No Pictures is the perfect way to play a fun trick on your kids or a fellow parent. Hand it to them and ask them to read it. They’ll look at you like you’re nuts, but they’ll be laughing and having a ball by the end of it. Trust me. My sister-in-law did it to me at Christmas a few years ago. I forgave her eventually.

Pigeon Books Series by Mo Willems
Another of our favorite series is also by Mo Willems. This adorably stubborn pigeon will worm his way into your heart. We have a little box set called It’s a Busload of Pigeon Books! that has three books in it. My kids love to argue with the pigeon when he begs to drive the bus and refuses to go to bed. Even our toddler has learned to yell “No! Bed!” as I read.

The Cat in the Hat by Dr. Seuss
A list of favorite children’s books could ever be complete without The Cat in the Hat! The kids are bored (happens all too often) and along comes a crazy cat with all kinds of ideas, while the voice of reason in the form of a fish tries to stop him. A mess follows but thankfully the Cat returns to clean up the mess in 1/100 of a minute before Mom comes in. Yep, sounds like every kid’s dream come true. My kids LOVE to ask me to read this book in a British accent. They like though I doubt I do the dialect justice.

Tugga Tugga Tugboat by Kevin Lewis
Hop on board for an adventure with a little tugboat. I like Tugga Tugga Tugboat because it starts out fun and exciting then winds down for a great bedtime-ready ending. It may be a little young for kids 5 and up, but mine started out reading it as littles and they still like the fun pictures and rhymes. As toddlers they loved looking over the illustrations.

Elephant & Piggie Books by Mo Willems
No one else (I’ve found) can make an elephant and pig as much fun as Mo Willems can! There are bunches of books in the Elephant & Piggie series and my kids have read all of them. The first two we ever read were There’s A Bird On Your Head and Pigs Make Me Sneeze and the ensuing hilarity was only the beginning. Our collection has continued to grow and we often check out others from the library to re-read. A little advice for you: these books are best if read in character voices and be sure to get louder as the text size gets bigger. My kids love Dad to be Gerald (the elephant) and me to read the Piggie parts. Tons of fun.

A Fly Went By by Mike McClintock
A long line of chaos all due to misunderstandings and assumptions. Kids don’t see it that way though (at least not until they are older). They only see the fun animals who think someone is chasing them. Thankfully there is a levelheaded little boy to come to their rescue! A Fly Went By is a fun book to read and listen to. Rhyme and repeat always grabs and keeps their attention.

Manners at the Table by Carrie Finn
My kids rolled their eyes the first time we read this, but it has grown on them. Like the dinosaur book above, I pull out Manners at the Table when the young ones need a reminder. The pictures are super colorful and give clear examples of how others might see us while we eat. My kiddos favorite part? The last page where you’ll find fun facts about eating around the world and how different cultures have different manners (or things that offend). These facts even came up again as we studied world geography.

Fox in Socks by Dr. Seuss
I know I said I wasn’t going to put these in any certain order of preference, but I had to put this one last because it’s my least favorite to read. Even after all the other silly books listed here, Fox in Socks is just too much for my brain most days. I included it out of duty because my kids love it. They find it hilarious when I struggle with things like “beetles battle beetles in a puddle paddle battle” and other such nonsense. Oh, the things we do for our kids 🙂

Comment below and let me know if your kids have any favorites they make you read over and over. What was your favorite book to read as a child?